General Question

My windshield wipers stopped working, but I can still hear the wiper motor. What do i do?

Last night my wipers suddenly just stopped working mid-wipe. When I got home I fiddled around with them and i could hear the motor doing something, but the wipers didnt budge. Any ideas on how I can fix this?

7 Answers

There is usually a belt or other connecting device that connects the wipers to the motor gears. You can either tear into it yourself, or take it to a mechanic, who probably has a lot of the correct tools to get to the root of the problem. On older cars, you can do it yourself, on newer cars, there are so many things hooked together, electrically speaking, that taking it to a shop is recommended.

Well, I can’t guarantee this will work, but I have a Hyundai Sonata (don’t know what you drive). And on one winter morning shortly after I bought the car, one of my wipers didn’t go when I turned them on, just sat there. So, I called the dealer. He said that right where the wiper arm attaches to the car, there is a nut. The wipers on this car are designed so that if they meet resistance, the nut loosens, so the motor can keep going and not burn out by being stuck. All I needed was a socket to tighten it up. Now if I don’t free my wipers when they are stuck to the windshield, I have to tighten those nuts, and bam, I’m done. If your wipers are unstuck, you can check those nuts and tighten them if they’re loose, then it might work. Otherwise, maybe it’s a belt inside, I don’t know, just would check that first.

What kind of a car is it? GM cars have a pantograph 4 bar linkage attached to the motor with a spline and set screw. Usually on the driver side of the car near the windshield in the protective plastic filter housing there is a small door about 2 inches square. You can pop it open with a screw driver and access the screw. It’s easy. Good luck.